Blair's boldest pledge

Three years ago today Tony Blair made his boldest pledge: abolition of child poverty within 20 years.

Symbolically, he made it in Toynbee Hall in London's East End where generations of Labour's pioneers including Clement Attlee worked to improve the lives of the poor.

A letter from eight leading social policy academics on this page, rightly pays tribute to what the government has already achieved: a million children lifted out of poverty. But that still leaves three million more to go. The academics usefully set out three tests for the future programme.

First, ending "doing good by stealth". The government's anti-poverty programme hardly featured in the last election and the party's admirable goal was buried on page 27 of the manifesto. But belatedly ministers have acknowledged this mistake.

Alistair Darling, the minister in charge of social security, finally conceded "We shouldn't be afraid to shout from the rooftops what we're doing to tackle poverty..." All that is needed now is a united campaign to carry the country with them. People forget that under the Tories poverty tripled, leaving a staggering one in three children under the poverty line.

Second, to integrate the anti-poverty campaigns into a broader strategy to create a fairer society. To be fair to Labour, it is. No previous government has introduced so many social programmes. Deprivation is being tackled on multiple fronts. But the academics are right that more redistribution is needed if benefits and services are to be improved.

Third, a wider public debate that should include the voices of the poor. That would be welcome. Labour has still not set out what is an adequate income. Six western states have. This is not a technical but a political issue.

Labour should proceed with it. Britain was once one of the more equal societies. Eighteen years of Tory rule made it one of the most unequal - even wider than the US. The people should be reminded.